Metamorphosis
by Apocalyptic Muse
Summary: Aliah is sick of being hounded for being different. No one understands her - no one human. When she is dtrapped on a Xenomorph infested planet she must combine forces with Re’han, a Yautja warrior who may hold answers to her past and a new future.
1. Prelude

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Metamorphosis

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By: Apocalyptic Muse

Full Summary: _Aliah Somerset is tired of being hounded for her differences. No one seems to understand her - - no one human at least. When she becomes trapped on a Xenomorph infested planet she must combine forces with Re'han, a Yautja warrior. In him she may find more than just a survival tactic. He may just hold the answers to her past and the beginnings of a bright new future._

Rating: _PG-13; R_

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00 . Prelude

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Alpha Colony BV - 28X…

It was forty-six years ago when humans first set foot upon what would later be named "Planet Terra" due to it's rocky and mountainous topography. Despite the mysteries surrounding the celestial body the colonists begun to raise families and go about their work, which was to add beauty and productivity to the land since the atmosphere was already livable. They planted trees and other kinds of flora over the barren expanses and built factories and offices unattached to their main base of operations and living areas.

It was during this time that the newest residents of Terra found the ruins of an ancient city; one that had been part of a sprawling culture. This was obvious evidence that some other people or sentient beings had inhabited the planet. Yet, where were they and why did they leave? Did they even leave? In the case of something more sinister, what had wiped them out? They searched long, but did not discover any answers. Time passed and the colonists of Terra forgot about the original civilization.

Until they learned just what had destroyed them…

Erik Matheson remembered the first time he set foot on Planet Terra. He was eight years old and everything seemed amazingly huge. The extensive community was the biggest thing he had ever seen as colony's went. His parents had just transferred from another colony to Terra. Quickly he had made a home on the world, every place having some meaning to him.

The North Sector was the living quarters. That was where he spent most of his time as a kid, getting to know the area and the other people. The West Sector was the school grounds and housed children from the preschool age all the way up to those taking college credit courses. His mother worked in the infirmary in the South Sector. The glaring white walls and antiseptic smell had always made him nervous, and when younger had scared him.

His father worked in the East Sector, the research and business facility. Two conjoined buildings stood ominously on the outskirts of the city. Erik had never been allowed there. Between the important goings on of the corporate suits and the sometimes classified research being done Dr. Matheson had decided Erik had no place even visiting there even though some of the other workers brought their own children on occasion.

Now Erik appreciated his father's choice to keep him away from that horrid place. He hadn't realized it until then, but his father had good reasons for keeping his son away. Without his precautions Erik knew that perhaps he would not be alive.

The once humongous colony had hideously transformed into a trap. Erik felt like a rat in a cage with no escape, no where to hide. The schools he had once frequented were silent; there would be no more games and no more laughter. The Infirmary that had frightened him was scary again, but not for the same reason as when he was a child. A real threat dwelt there now. The apartments he lived in were no longer a sanctuary from the outside world, but a butcher shop full of horrors.

In less than a week Erik Matheson's quiet, seemingly normal life had changed into a fight for survival. A nightmare he could not wake from. The seventeen year old flew through the empty corridors of the research building, his shoes skidding along the wet tiles. His breath came in pants as he stopped against a corner wall. His eyes surveyed the hallway behind him for his pursuer. He saw nothing, but that did not mean it wasn't there somewhere, waiting for him.

He didn't stay long, opting to flee again as soon as his weary legs would let him. With a heavy push off the wall he stumbled down the hall searching for the exit. The research facility had provided some measure of cover and safety for a while, but that was over now. He had to find another place to hide while he waited for help to come. _They have to come_. He assured himself.

Through the darkness he pushed, hoping that the next turn would lead him to the main doors and out into the cool evening air. He prayed the approaching night would grant him cover. If so he could make it to the green house. Thus far that area seemed to be creature-free.

Finally he reached the double doors. He pulled his father's identification card from his jeans pocket and swiped it in the appropriate slot. The light turned from red to green, indicating the card had been taken and he was free to go. The doors slid open.

As Erik shoved the card back in his pocket he didn't notice the pitch black shadow crawling closer and closer along the wall. A flash of light reflected off a smooth ebony surface as the monstrosity raised its ugly head. It's mouth opened in a low hiss. Erik froze, then slowly began to turn toward the sound.

_Checkmate._


	2. The Ambassador's Daughter

Science! meet daughter of old Time thou art

Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes!

Why prey'st thou upon the poet's heart,

Vulture! whose wings are dull realities!

How should he love thee--or how deem thee wise

Who wouldn't not leave him, in his wandering,

To seek for treasure in the jewell'd skies

Albeit, he soar with an undaunted wing?

"Sonnet -- To Science" Edgar Allan Poe

****

01 . The Ambassador's Daughter

Three Weeks Later

Transport Vessel Constantine…

Aliah Somerset studied her handheld computer once more, her lips pursing in thought as she went over the layout of the _Constantine_. Three hours early she had been awakened along with the other hundred or so passengers on board what she not-so-affectionately referred to as the cryo-yacht. Naturally the Captain was trying to keep relative calm among all the passengers while maintaining his dead seriousness of the situation to his subordinates. Luckily for Aliah she had a keen ear and a way to be in the position to overhear important information.

Her father, Sir Elias Somerset, was a high ranking Ambassador on his way to the Space Station Polaris. Of course, when this newest oddity arose he felt it was his job, no, perhaps his _right_ to poke his nose in it, demanding he know exactly what was transpiring. They _had_ been awakened weeks in advance with thousands upon thousands left to travel to reach their destination. With the right kind of prodding (the kind that involved the invocation of many political leaders names that all happened to be "very close friends") Captain Crenshaw broke down and told Elias what happened.

Being a diplomat had it's advantages, but it also had it's disadvantages. To the seventeen year old many times the two seemed to hold the exact same traits and depended solely on who's hands they were in whether they were good or bad. Her father was one of those gifted with the power of manipulation. He could get anything he wanted - - and usually he didn't have the most honorable or moral aims.

This was something Aliah could not stand about her only living genetic donor. She did not understand why he did some of the things he did. Of course, it mostly came down to profit and the idea of progress. _Manifest Destiny._ She hated how people were so overconfident in believing that progress came only in the making in money instead of the progress of the heart and soul, the uplifting of the human condition. It angered Aliah that instead of trying to offer the fallen man a hand of assistance people seemed to be more interested in kicking him while he was down, even if it meant permanently crippling him.

The universe seemed to have no integrity left - - if it ever had any at all. Humans never learned, even when mountains and mountains of history spoke endlessly about how greed and pride had always brought those in power down. She didn't suppose it mattered much. She had come to the conclusion that life had no meaning to anyone anymore. They were all doomed to suffer in the eternal metaphorical fires of Hell. Aliah personally took up reasoning that she would probably reside in the ever flowing river of woe. Perfectly logical considering her cynical, hopeless nature.

With a sigh she turned the corner, only to have her face harden even further with the sight that confronted her eyes. Without realizing it she emitted a low sound of contempt. Before her stood the one and only Kristoff Tobias, her father's right hand man and head of his personal guard. The twenty-one-year-old made Aliah sick. He was deceitful and sly; everything he did, whether it seemed heartily self-sacrificing, held his own fraudulent motives.

He was also a hypocrite. The thing Aliah abhorred more than lying was hypocrisy, especially when the certain hypocrite was trying to tell her how to run her own life. _Bastard._ She couldn't believe her father wanted her to marry this asshole.

"Good morning, Princess." Kristoff greeted with his cunning, sickening smile. She felt her stomach turn, and not in a pleasant way.

"Don't call me Princess." Aliah growled between gritted teeth. With as much power as she could handle she forced herself to return to being cordial. "Where is my father?"

Earlier she had heard the Captain tell her father about a meeting that was to be held at this time about the situation at hand. Although Aliah was supposed to be safely stowed away in their private quarters, completely oblivious to the possible dangers that awaited them, she had opted for Choice B, which was crashing the meeting and making them let her sit in on it. She had more than a few tactics she could use to force her father to let her stay. She would use them all if need be.

"He is in with Captain Crenshaw right now," the brunette informed, nodding towards the door at his side, "and asked that they not be disturbed."

Aliah frowned. "Not to be disturbed, my ass." She bit, trying to shove past him, but Kristoff held out a navy-clad arm.

"He specifically asked me to not allow _you_ in. Sorry, your highness."

"Go fuck yourself, Tobias." Aliah said, pushing his arm away from her. "I can go in if I like. It's not _your_ decision, it's my fathers. He has last say. Now MOVE!"

He smiled at her and shrugged. "Can't do that. I have my orders. I can't break them, even for one I love as much as you." His fingers slid down her cheek and she jerked away, shivering. _He touched her_!

"Cut that crap, we both know you don't really love me. I loathe charades." Her eyes were like ice daggers. "And never touch me again." She shuddered for a second time. Just the thought of… it was enough to vomit.

"Come on, now, Aliah," Kristoff said, "of all people I'd think you would love _charades_." That's when he leaned in and forced his lips on her. Disgusted, revolted, she pushed him back, gasping for the breath he had stolen. The fires of rages raced through her veins, quickly shattering the well placed ice, leading to a violent reaction.

She rammed her knee into his groin, reveling in the cry of shock, albeit strangled, that escaped his throat. "_Bastard!"_ She shrieked, backing up a few steps from the man who was then crumpled against the wall in agony. She wiped the back of her hand across her lips. "How dare you!"

Seconds later the door beside Kristoff's prone form opened, revealing Ambassador Somerset, Captain Crenshaw, a few advisor's, and the captains best men and technicians. "What is going on out here?" the Ambassador demanded, noticing Kristoff on the floor. When his eyes fell on his daughter they turned considerably colder. "Aliah. You are supposed to be in our cabin. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to go for a walk." Aliah drawled sarcastically, not bothering to hide her disrespect or anger.

Ambassador Somerset ignored her tone; he was too used to it for it to truly bother him anymore. "All right, then tell me why the head of my personal guard is now a pathetic mess on the floor?"

"The head of your personal guard," she spat, eyes narrowing down at the subject of their discussion, "was harassing me. He kissed me." That should have been enough of an explanation for her father she decided. Everyone knew Aliah hated to be kissed, and to have it forced upon her in such a sudden manner should have been a good reason. Yet…

"_Aliah_!" Her father boomed, "must you always be so damned ridiculous!?"

Her eyes widened.

"Go back to our quarters."

"No." Aliah said. "I want to know what's going on. I have a right to know."

"I said go now." Ambassador Somerset ordered. He didn't like Aliah back talking him in front of the others.

"I said no." Aliah repeated. "You let me come in or you can expect me to become quite a bit more _ridiculous._" She regarded him with a air of threat. He knew she would do it.

"One word and you're out." The Ambassador spat. Aliah smiled and followed them inside the room. She threw one last glance at Kristoff before disappearing.

Mateo Christiano peeked down the long briefing table, his dark eyes settling on the slender figure of Aliah Somerset. He recalled the first time he had seen the teenager. He was still training to be a pilot then, a rookie in all aspects. He goofed around when he should have been working and worked when he should have been goofing around. Needless to say (but we'll say it anyway) he had few friends.

Ambassador Somerset was visiting one of the Generals that was residing on the base Mateo was stationed on, and along with him came his daughter. Even then, at the tender age of fourteen, she was a pistol. When some airmen mistook her for some random little tart wandering around the compound she corrected them; to make a long story short most of them had bruises by he end and _all_ of them learned some respect for the fairer sex.

Even Mateo, who up until that point had had only a small degree of consideration for women, was charmed and impressed by her. He made sure not to underestimate her when they finally did meet personally. It was a few days later and she was the only one occupying the mess hall at his lunch time. Back then Aliah had no qualms about showing her interest in things. Her curiosity had led her over to the quiet Sergeant and she began a conversation. By the end of the day they had both seemed to find someone to talk to.

Since then they had become pretty close friends. Well, as close as one could be to Aliah. She was hard to get through to and had even less friends than Mateo. Of course, she liked it that way. The more people who knew her personal business were more that could screw up her life. Those that did scratch her protective barrier still found it very difficult to decipher her strange actions and beliefs.

However, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened out there in the hall between her and Kristoff Tobias. Mateo, like Aliah, couldn't stand the upstart. He kept hoping that someone in charge would finally see Kristoff for what he was: a lying bastard. So far that hadn't happened and those who _could_ see it had to live with the prick. Mateo knew Kristoff had a thing for Aliah; hell, everyone knew he had a thing for Aliah. Only Aliah couldn't stand Kristoff, and that frustrated the guard to no end for he was a stickler for getting what he wanted when he wanted it.

Mateo found it unfortunate that Aliah's father was pushing her to marry the jerk; she deserved so much more than that. She needed someone who could understand her ways, respect her idiosyncrasies. Perhaps even someone who could keep her in line. Aliah always liked a good challenge, but being an Ambassador's daughter didn't allow for much of that.

Aliah desperately needed a friend-type companion instead of the over-romanticized image of the knight on his white stead, instead of the man who would bring roses and champagne on a whim. She wasn't the wine and roses kind of girl. In fact she'd just assume kick your ass than kiss you. So far the type of guy Aliah wanted, needed had not surfaced. He didn't seem to exist anymore. Honorable. Strong. Respectful. Confident. Humorous. A bad-ass, but also an intellectual of sorts. Last but not least: the ability to take Aliah's constant shit.

"_Good luck on that one Li." _Mateo had said once. If she ever did find someone like that he hoped she wouldn't call him - - he'd have a heart attack and die. Men like that just weren't around…

****

Elsewhere in space…

An irritated yowl rang through the corridors, making more than a few heads turn the direction the sound originated. Following that came a string of curses that everyone thought was amusing.

Everyone, that is, but Re'han. The yautja warrior paced the length of his quarters throwing angry glances at the device sitting on his worktable. He didn't know how long he had been working on perfecting it, modifying it to his liking, but that piece of information didn't quite matter considering that it was going too slow. Every time he seemed to be getting close it would slip away.

"Still tinkering away with that thing?" came an amused voice from the doorway. Serenti; the closest thing to a friend to Re'han.

"I am not '_tinkering_,' tinkering implies that there is no proposed direction. I have a direction."

"It's just not going that way. Keeps running the other way, huh? Maybe you need to throw a net over it." A laugh.

"Very funny, Serenti." said Re'han humorlessly. He took his work seriously, even if no one else did.

"I think so. You know what would be better? Get rid of that. It's a waste of time."

Re'han shook his head. No way he was getting rid of what he was working on. After possibly months of devotion to this project he was not going to forsake it. _That_ would be a waste.

"What is it anyway?" Serenti leaned forward, suddenly taking an interest in the object.

"A prototype for an extension to our computers. It will in theory expand efficiency and productivity. More power, less space. I am also adding features onto it."

"Those would be?" Serenti looked skeptical. As always.

"None of your business. For right now at least." Re'han gazed at the extension pack thoughtfully. He gave it one last dirty look before turning back to Serenti. "What are you doing here?" The sudden question both surprised Serenti and jogged his memory.

"Oh, yeah. That. We're at our destination, but there's a problem."

"Yes?"

"Oomans are here, too."

"Yes." Re'han said impatiently, "it _is_ a ooman colony."

"No. I a ship and there's something wrong on the planet. All life has vanished… save one life form." Serenti paused, and Re'han was getting a bad feeling. "Hard meat."

"_What?_"

Aliah crossed the room for what had to be the thousandth time. "I don't see how this could have happened." She was saying, her hands flying madly along with her words. "I mean, Terra was specifically designed to avoid this problem."

The meeting had ended and the two friends had snuck away before the Ambassador had a chance to reprimand his daughter once again. Aliah had learned some very interesting things about the situation at hand. The first was the fact that all communications to the colony had somehow been disrupted or destroyed. That seemed an impossibility to the young woman, who spent much of her time poking about the odd technological item and studying schematics and technical systems of places. One of the planets that stuck out in her mind was Terra due to the fact that it was designed so perfectly that something could _not_ happen to it. At least not the _system._

"Well, even the mighty _Titanic_ sank." Mateo pointed out, leaning back in his chair.

"Still, this is wrong." Aliah dropped down beside him in a listless manner. The second part of the problem was that a steady distress beacon was being emitted from below. The two put together spelled sure trouble for whoever was left down there, perhaps to those on the _Constantine_.

"Well, I don't see why it should be your concern." Mateo said, "I understand you are worried for those on the planet, but whatever happened has happened. The best we can do is send down a party and see exactly what is going on. You'll see. I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Probably some kind of malfunction and they're all fine." _Yeah right._ Mateo thought to himself. Even he didn't believe that bull shit.

* * *

Tell me what you think. I'm new to this so I'd appreciate some helpful feedback. If I get enough positivity then I'll start working on the next chapter.

-- Apocalyptic Muse


	3. Stowaways

Fair Princesse of the spacious air,  
That hast vouchsaf'd acquaintance here,  
With us are quarter'd below stairs,  
That can reach heav'n with nought but pray'rs;  
Who, when our activ'st wings we try,  
Advance a foot into the sky.

-

"the falcon" Richard Lovelace

-

****

02 . Stowaways

The image of the human vessel _Constantine_ floated across the screen before Re'han's eyes. He was pretty sure of the reason why it was there. On one of their frequencies an even signal played over and over. Re'han had heard this many times before and came to know it as a distress beacon. It had probably pulled the _Constantine_ from mid-flight. What the ooman crew were not aware of was the fact that it was already too late to help their kindred.

"It looks like the _kainde amedha_ have been here for weeks, according to the ooman log." Re'han said, studying the documents from them planet below. He had dug into the computer system and extracted the last relevant files. Naturally Serenti, and many of the others, scoffed at this. Re'han was one of the few, if not the only one, on this ship who could understand ooman language. So far he had learned English, Japanese, and bits and pieces of what was called French.

The others thought oomans were an illogical and stupid race. They would always be inferior to the yautja. Studying them and learning about them was pointless. Some were hunted, but most weren't even worthy of that. Re'han mostly agreed with those statements. Oomans were hard to understand. They were so contradictory, and so blind to everything around them. However, Re'han was finding more and more of them having potential to be much more than what his people so strongly believed they were cursed to stay.

"Yeah?" Serenti said.

"It seems some of the scientists decided to play around with some 'strange creatures' they found out in the ruins of the old civilization."

"The Morr-gotts." Hartak, one of the oldest warriors, nodded. He had heard stories about the fall of the Morr-gotts. They had been a people that was quickly evolving, and if they hadn't been destroyed by the hardmeat they would have probably one day become equal to the Yautja.

"There were some 'accidents,'" Re'han continued, "and, well, there is really no more in the log, but it seems proper to deduce that the whole colony was infested."

"Sounds like oomans." Unaje growled. "Idiot race. They are always poking around where they don't belong."

Re'han could not disagree. "So it may seem."

- - -

Aliah Somerset ran down the known line of curses as she circled her room. She had done nothing but pace since Mateo had left. (Actually she had done nothing but pace even when he was there.) She still couldn't wrap her mind around what was going on. Nothing Mateo or any of the others said could placate the deep feelings of unease that were rising in her. Something was wrong, she could sense it. She only wished she could figure out what it was.

A soft whine broke through her thoughts and a wet nose nudged her bare ankle. She glanced down to meet the dark brown eyes of her golden retriever, Bob. "Oh, sorry, Bob." She said, crouching down so she could scratch behind the animal's ears. He rubbed his head against her and whined some more. "You know something's wrong, too, don't you, boy?" She asked, giving one last pat before standing up. "Don't worry, though. We're going to find out what's going on… and I think I know how to do just that…"

****

An hour later…

Aliah watched as they prepared a small ship in the docking bay. Shortly Captain Crenshaw would be sending down a small team of personnel to check on the people on Terra. It was Aliah's plan to stowaway on the ship and go down with them. Mateo was one of the pilot's assigned to the not-so-pleasant duty so she figured there was going to be at least one person she trusted down there.

_Okay, Aliah, so he's the only person you trust. At least you have Bob and Karl._ She glanced down the dog on her side and then stroked the furry, elongated animal on her shoulder. Karl, her pet ferret, was curled around her neck, seemingly snoozing. Aliah knew better. Sly little creature… She smirked at him. "We're going on an adventure Karl, get ready."

The animal raised it's head and looked straight at her with it's dark eyes, it's nose twitched expectantly. "Looking for trouble?" She commented. "I hope so, cause we're probably going to get it."

Karl squeaked.

- - -

Re'han lightly dropped his bag of equipment. The dusty earth spurted up, drifting briefly in the dry, warm air. A human would have considered the place hot - - it was nearing the mid-eighties - - but to the Yautja warrior and scientist it was below the desired temperature. _Heh, but it's a picnic to the weather on Ganei. _He thought, remembering its drastically changing atmosphere, forever cycling through the extremes: one minutes blistering hot, the next minute a monsoon, an hour later there would be a snow storm.

****

That had been pleasant. Not.

"I still don't see why they just don't take advantage of the situation," Re'han overheard one of the others saying. It was a newly blooded fighter by the name Fri'sak. Newly blooded and stupid. Re'han didn't know how he managed to survive this long. Dumb luck, perhaps. "This would be a good opportunity to hunt."

_Idiot._ Re'han thought, but said, "have you ever considered this situation isn't really as ideal as you think it is? We still do not know the numbers of the kainde amedha." There was a difference between honor and suicide.

Fri'sak paused only a moment before replying, not even bothering to turn and face his superior, "what's a few hardmeat to _true_ warriors?" Silence. The three other warriors with them stopped what they were doing and glanced over to see Re'han's expression.

The younger Yautja had just implied Re'han was no real warrior. Yes, it was true that Re'han appeared to be more of a scientist and inventor more than a hunter, but to those who had actually met him, had seen him in combat knew there was more to Re'han than just electronics and tools. His usually quiet, and reflectively peaceful demeanor could turn extraordinary vicious in the blink of an eye, and then back again.

Fri'sak, of course, neither cared nor wanted to care about any of that. He had never wanted to know anything about the scientist, so his knowledge was wanting. His mistake.

Before he could even register the movement Re'han's elbow bashed him squarely in the face, leaving him momentarily stunned. A kick straight to his chest knocked him back a fair distance smashing him against a large boulder. He was lucky his spine didn't snap. Re'han watched placidly as Fri'sak pulled himself up. It was obvious he was in pain, but that was overridden by anger. He lunged for his superior, intent on avenging his hurt pride. Re'han side-stepped and landed a blow to Fri'sak's back.

"I'd advise you rethink your strategy." Re'han said. "It would be a _shame _to lose such a _fantastic_ warrior such as yourself, Fri'sak," he continued sarcastically, "but if come at me again, I _will_ kill you. Consider yourself warned."

He turned and walked away, snatching up his pack before vanishing around a rock structure.

"Fool." Unaje growled, and then followed.

Fri'sak was soon left to pick himself up. His pride was shredded. He would _not_ forget. And when the time came Re'han would beg for mercy…

- - -

It was difficult keeping Bob quiet through the drop to the colony. He kept hearing Mateo's voice and tried to jerk from Aliah's grip to go running to one of his familiar human friends. Aliah had to keep her hand over his muzzle to stop him from barking. "Bad, Sir Robert." She hissed in his floppy golden ear. "Hush now. We'll see him soon and you can bark all you like."

He whined softly as she lightly bonked him over the nose with a couple fingers. That was as far as she ever went to punish her pets. Karl behaved nicely, but Aliah couldn't help but think how his long furry body felt like a nice fur scarf. He would be offended if she made the joke.

She felt the rough landing, then shortly after heard the main door being lowered. She listened until the sound of the team's voices began to fade and then came out of her hiding place. She made her way down the ramp and out into the warm day.

It felt like a sharp slap after being in the cold of space for so long. The heat of the planet seared at her skin. She shivered as the cold escaped her body. "Well, I hope you guys packed a fan."

Sir Robert whimpered.

* * *

Sorry abot the shortnesss. I meant to make it longer but Idecided what the hell. I'd go ahead and put it up. Its a bit boring right now. Tsk Tsk. Bad me.

Thanks everyone for the reviews. Continue to do so. I like to know what you think.

This story should be about fourteen chapters long and will most likely be followed by two sequels -- err that would make it a trilogy wouldn't it?

I'm also working on a Aliens/Pedator site. If you're interested in that let me know and I'll put in the address to it. TTFF. Muse.


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